The Pet AI
by King Sakura Princess
Summary: Ren Jinguji, one of the kings, gets an A.I. pet, Ai Mikaze. Even though the pets are half-human half-animal, they're still seen as just that, pets. You don't get romantically involved with a pet. Male royals are supposed to marry women anyways. So why is it that Ren starts thinking of Ai as a person, and some people are starting to assume Ren likes him?
1. Meeting the Kitten

Warnings: M/M, AU, Some OOC

It's my first time posting in the Utapri section and my first time posting in awhile, so I'm a kind of nervous, but also excited. RenxAi has been my Utapri OTP for awhile, so my first Utapri story had to be about them. They're a rare pair, but I think they're adorable together.

I hope you'll enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Uta no Prince-sama.

* * *

"I could a puppy or a cat. Which one did you get, Tokiya?" Ren asked, swinging around in his desk chair to face Tokiya who was sitting on the couch behind him. "I think you shouldn't say puppy anymore." Tokiya said, with his face stoic as ever. "And I don't have one. I'm not that inserted in pets." "What does that mean? Not 'that' interested?" "I'm not interested." "Then why didn't you just say that?" Tokiya sighed. "Why don't you just pick a dog?" "Hmm, remember that new project? The one King Camus started?" "You mean the hybrids?" "Yes, that one. I wonder if I could have one of those." "No one's bought one yet. They're still getting them tested." "Yes, but you see I want one now. So I'm going to order one." Ren said, turning back around in his seat. He decided to look online for one.

Hmm...which one to get. By cats and dogs, he didn't actually mean cats and dogs, he meant robotic pets, half human half animal. Basically, they looked just like humans, just with cat or dog ears and tails. There were new ones, the hybrids, one that were half human and could be half cat or dog at any time, whichever you pleased. But they also had a human pet setting. So if you wanted to have a pet that wasn't an animal, you could. However, they weren't finished testing yet, so no one knew if they really worked that well.

"Ah, I see a nice one." Ren said, looking at the robot. A.I. unit Mikaze. They gave them a 'name' but you could change it if you wished. It was like a surname, and most people used it as such. "How does this one look, Tokiya?" Tokiya got up from the red couch he was sitting on and went to look at Ren's computer. "You're getting a boy?" "Don't question my indulgences. You know male royalty marry women, and female royalty marry men." "Are you attracted to men?" Ren shrugged, swinging around in his chair. "A little, I guess." "Are you going to order that one?" Tokiya asked. "Of course. It looks fine." Ren said, ordering it. "Ren, are you really going buy this thing?" "Yes, why wouldn't I?" Tokiya sighed, "Alright, I'm going to go back to my mansion. I'll see you later." "Later, Icchi." Tokiya glared at Ren. He knew he didn't like that nickname. Then he walked off.

Ren started at the computer screen, wondering what his new pet would be like. Would it be playful? Smart? Stubborn? Yeah, he probably should've read the description first. But he looked so nice, Ren couldn't pass him up. He will just have to see what it's like when it gets here.

* * *

"Jinguji-sama! There's a package at the door!" Otoya, one of Ren's butler's, informed him. Ren went to the door to sign for the package. "Be careful, Jinguji-sama, the hybrids haven't finished testing so it's unpredictable how this one might be. It might turn out to be very different then the description." The delivery man warned. That's alright, Ren was to lazy to read the bio anyway. "Thank you, I'll be careful." Ren said, signing for the package. He didn't have to put him together himself, did he? Yeah, maybe descriptions were important.

"Should I carry this to your room, Jinguji-sama?" Otoya asked. "Yes, Thank you." Ren said, following Otoya who was struggling with the package. It was heavy. Otoya put it in Ren's room. "Do you want me to open it for you?" "No. You can go now, Otoya-san." Ren waited for him to leave before opening up the large package. A.I. Mikaze was already put together. All Ren had to do was active it. He picked it up out of the box and put it on his bed, then took out the manual. So it was voice activated. To turn it on, Ren had to say the unit name. "Mikaze," Ren said, getting unnecessarily close to the it and whispering in it's ear. Ren wanted to see if it made it blush. Would it actually work, though? They weren't done testing, and it wasn't opening it's eyes. Did he do something wrong? A moment after that thought, A.I. Mikaze opened it's eyes. "Yes, Master?" It worked! Now Ren could have fun with it. "Turn into a cat for me." Ren preferred dogs but cats were cuter.

A.I. Mikaze grew a cat tail and ears. He looked cute, like a cat. His hair was in a half-ponytail, he noticed. Did all hybrid come this way, or was it just unique to this one? "May I talk master?" The A.I. asked, starting Ren. "No, not right now." Ren wanted to figure out what he should do with the hybrid first. "..." This was supposed to be a cat wasn't it? It didn't meow or anything? Oh well, Ren's fault for not reading the description. Now what should he name it? Ai sat up during while Ren thought. "From now on your name will be Ai." Ren said. The cat, Ai, looked a little displeased at this, but didn't say anything, it just nodded acknowledgement.

Ren sat down on his bed next to Ai, and put his hand on Ai's cheek. "You're going to be my pet. You're going to obey me, understand? Also, you may talk now." "Yes, Master. I understand." Ai said. "Good. Now I'll be right back, stay here." Ren said, getting up and leaving the room. He was going to order a pet bed for Ai, that's what most pet owners did. He ordered one, along with a blanket, some pet food bowels, special food for the robotic pets, everything Ai would need. When he was done he went back to it.

"Ai, would you prefer to stay in this room with me, or have your own room?" Ren asked. He wanted to get to know Ai. "Whatever you prefer, Master." "What do you prefer?" Ai blinked, not really knowing what to say. He was taught to not have opinions, to do whatever his master said. What did he prefer...? How was he supposed to answer this? "Ai," Ren said, getting Ai's attention back. "What do you want?" Ren said, in a gentler tone this time. Ai should want to be in this room. It was carpeted with red carpet, the sheets were red, there was an oasis of pillows, red curtains surrounding the bed, plus there were two gold lampshades on matching night stands next to the bed. There were a million books for Ai to read on his bookshelf, assuming he could read, and a flat screen TV in front of the couch and a little sitting area. There was also that hidden hot tub, but Ai didn't know that yet. Ren had it all, so why wouldn't he want to stay here? Unless he had an aversion to red. "I'm fine with whatever you want, Master." Ren sighed. That wasn't the answer he wanted. "Ai, answer, or I'm going to have to punish you." Ren said, not fully knowing what that meant. If Ai didn't answer he'd have to think of something. Maybe he would kiss him? "I would prefer to room somewhere else." Ai said. He didn't really feel comfortable with Ren yet. Ren didn't want that answer either, but he did ask him what he wanted. "Okay, I'll make arrangements for you. In the mean time, stay here." Ai nodded, watching Ren leave.

Ren went to go talk to Otoya. "Otoya-san," Ren called Otoya from where he was cleaning some absurd looking vase that he'd never noticed. It was pink with orange flowers on it, along with pictures of bananas and mangos. It was also shaped like a triangle. Who even bought that? "Yes Jinguji-sama?" Otoya said, halting polishing the vase. "I need you to make arrangements for a room for Ai." Ren said. "Ai?" Otoya asked, confused as to who that was. "My pet." Ren said, liking how it sounded. "Your pet? You got one?" "Yes, I did. A hybrid." Ren said, not in the mood for idle chit chat. He thought him being a hybrid might make difference in his room arrangements, so he told Otoya that. "Aren't they rooming with you?" Otoya asked. Ren didn't like being questioned. "He's not." Ren snapped. Otoya flinched slightly. "Okay, I'll call someone to make the arrangements." "Just get whoever did my room." Ren told him. After a second of thought, he added, "Oh, and throw out that vase." Then started to walk back. Otoya went to go make the call, and just as Ren was almost to his room, a maid stopped him and said "Jinguji-sama, Otoya-kun says that an interior designer wants to speak to you." meaning the person who is going to do Ai's room. He followed the maid to wherever Otoya was.

Meanwhile, Ai was laying on Ren's bed, waiting for him to come back. He wondered if Ren was displeased with his answer. Maybe he should've answered how he thought Ren would want him to answer. He shouldn't have said anything he wanted. Right now, he wanted to get off the bed. Ren did say to stay here, but did that mean the bed or the room? Ai thought it meant the room, but he didn't want Ren to be upset with him. But curiosity got the better of him, and he got up and went to the bookshelf. He went to grab a book, but stopped short. He wasn't supposed to be curious, he was supposed to obey. He didn't need to read, although he knew how and had always liked learning it. He wondered if he'd like picking and reading a book. But looking threw Ren's books might be an invasion of his privacy, so he sat down on the couch and turned on the television. It wasn't an invasion of his privacy to do that, was it? Ai turned the station until he seen an intellectual program and stopped, thinking it could help him become better for his master. But then his cat nature caught up to him, and he soon fell asleep.

Ren walked into his room, looking at the bed to see Ai wasn't there. Did he move? Ren walked over to the couch to see Ai was there, curled up like a kitten and asleep. Ren sat down beside him and petted him, which made purring noises come out of Ai, so Ren kept doing it. Soon he felt his own eyelids getting heavy, especially from the boring crap Ai put on the TV. He soon fell asleep, on top of Ai's side.

Soon, Ai woke up, and tried to get up, only to feel a weight on his side. Oh. It was his master. He'd fallen asleep on him. "Master," Ai whispered, wondering if it was impolite to wake him. "Master," Ai whispered again. Ren still didn't wake up. Ai didn't like this position, it wasn't comfortable at all. Though he supposed his comfort didn't matter, only his Master's did. So Ai stayed like that for half an hour more, until Ren stirred. He sat up and then looked at Ai. "Did I fall asleep on you? Sorry," Ren said, stretching his arms. Ai sat up, and tilted his head. "Are you getting enough sleep? You should be getting 8.5 to 9.25 hours a night. You shouldn't be needing naps." Ren laughed, "Thank you for worrying about me, but I'm fine. I just got a little tired," Ren said, before getting close to Ai and whispering in his ear, "And you looked so cute, kitten, it's no wonder I fell asleep on you." He just wanted to make him blush, just once. But he didn't blush, he just sat up. "Get more sleep." He simply stated. Ren smiled despite himself, and sighed. "Alright,"

"Well, I expressed your things so they should be here tomorrow, but you're room isn't going to be ready yet, so in the meantime you can stay here with me." Ren said "Yes, master." Ai said. "Why don't we spend some time together? We can do anything you'd like." Ren suggested. "Anything you'd prefer." Ai said Ren sighed. "Ai, we've been over this, I just want to know-" There was knock at the door. "Jinguji-sama, Ichinose-sama is here to see you." A maid said from the other side of the door, the same one from earlier. Now if Ren only knew her name..."Thank you, I'll be right there." Ren said, loud enough for the maid to hear. "I'll be right back, feel free to use the TV and look at the books."

Ren went out to the main door, only to see Tokiya talking with Otoya, his butler. "Thank you, Ittoki-san," Tokiya said, with a stoic expression as usual, while Otoya handed him a glass from a tray that had a glass pitcher on it filled with water. "No problem, I'm almost done with work anyway. I just have to water the plants, which I don't mind doing." Then, upon seeing Tokiya eye the pitcher, "I-I wasn't going to do it with this water." Otoya assured. "I know." Tokiya said. Then Otoya didn't know what to say, causing it to be awkward.

Ren walked toward them, getting bored of watching their exchange. "Ah, Tokiya-san, nice to see you again." The reason why he was adding the -san was because if people knew how close they were it could be used against them. People could think they were friends, just not too good of friends. There was servants all around them, Otoya included, although Ren didn't know why he was just watching them talk. He supposed this did happen often, people were curious as to what their king was doing, after all. "I'm surprised you came back so soon though, did you miss me?" Ren asked playfully. That was just his personality, it wasn't anything that could give them away. All he was doing was having a little fun. Tokiya resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Jinguji-san, I've simply come here to speak to you about business matters." Tokiya said, keeping it strictly formal. That was their excuse sometimes, 'business matters'. One time they just spent the whole day in there eating candy. It was a rather flimsily excuse, really. Since when did Ren care about anything regarding business matters? But he supposed it worked, so they just kept using it. It was vague enough.

Ren sighed. "Alright, if you insist." He and Tokyia went into Ren's office and closed the door. Tokyia sat on the couch and Ren sat on his desk chair, as per usual. "Did it come?" Tokiya asked. "Of course it did, it's name is Ai." "Ai? As in A.I.? You couldn't think of a better name?" Ren scoffed. "It's a perfect name for him. The meaning of Ai is love after all." "Oh. I see." "What?" "Nothing." "What is it Tokiya?" "It's nothing." "Tell me." "It's nothing, I told you." "I can do this all day." Tokiya sighed. "I can tell you're already taking a liking to it." "Of course I am, he's my pet after all." Ren replied. "No, I mean a _liking_." Tokiya said "Oh, you mean...? No, no, he's just a toy." "I just don't want you to get into trouble. Male royalty marry women, and it's absolutely _unthinkable_ to marry a pet." He seemed rather passionate about it. "Are you disgusted by me, Tokiya?" Ren asked, wondering where he stood on the topic. Tokiya sighed, "No, I just...I don't want you to get into trouble." Ren nodded. "I see." He said, not really believing him. "Well, I'm going to go check on him, you can stay if you like." Ren walked out of the office. He doubted Tokiya would stay. Unless he just liked his couch.

Ren walked to his room where Ai was. He hadn't hesitated this time and had a pile of books on the couch. He was currently flipping through one right now. Ai looked up when he heard Ren walk in. "I'm sorry, I'll put these back." Ai said. He was stoic too. Just like Tokyia. Ren didn't want to think about Tokiya right now, he didn't understand. "It's alright. I told you to help yourself, didn't I?" Ren came over and sat next to him on the couch. "What are you reading?" He looked over to see Ai was reading about the royal families. Ichinose, Jinguji, Nanami, Shibuya, Hijirikawa, and Shinomiya. Camus' Family got a whole other book. "Why are you looking at that?" "I was looking at information to make sure no one had any reason to be against you. You seem a little too laid back." Ren raised an eye brow. Had he just _insulted_ him? He found it...endearing.

Ren chuckled. "Thank you for being concerned, but I'm pretty sure I don't have any enemies right now." "You don't know what people are thinking." There was only one thing Ren didn't like more than being questioned when he was giving orders, it was someone telling him he was wrong. Ai just did that right now. "I'm good at guessing, so if I say no one is against me then no one is." Ren told him. Ai realized his tone had gotten a bit colder, so he stopped protesting. He didn't want to upset his master. He put the books back and then sat back on the couch. No one talked after that. "Forgive me, Master." Ai finally said, which was hard. He didn't like being wrong either. More like, he didn't feel he was ever wrong. "It's alright, Ai." Ren said. He didn't feel like holding a grudge, and he wasn't really that upset, it was more like the principle of it. "So, is there anything you'd like to do with me?" Ren asked. "Whatever you prefer, Master." "Ai," Ren said in a scolding tone. "There could be some interesting information in the library. May I look there?" Ai asked. "Of course, I'll come with you." Ren said. They both left to go to the library.

* * *

"You're back earlier than expected, Ichinose-sama." Otoya said, while watering a plant by the entrance way. "D-did something happen?" Ittoki was always so nervous around him. This is what happens when you're a king, Tokiya was used to it by now. "No, everything's fine, Ittoki-san." Tokiya lied. He didn't need to tell him of their quarrel. He didn't mean to come across as judgmental, but he did. He really just didn't want Ren to get into to trouble, but he couldn't fathom liking your pet in that way. He's never had a pet himself, so maybe there's something about them. Tokiya wouldn't experiment with this thought, he wasn't the type to have 'toys'.

Ittoki put down the water and rushed to open the door, startling Tokyia out of his thoughts. "Sorry, Ichinose-sama." "It's alright." Tokiya replied. He must've of thought he was waiting for him to open the door. "C-come back again." Ittoki said, and then cringed. Tokiya could understand why, seeing as that was what a store owner said when someone left their shop. "Goodbye, Ittoki-san." Tokyia said, hoping to reassure him.

He went to his limo which parked outside, his driving was waiting for him. Tokiya had learned how to drive, he liked being self-sufficient, but it wasn't normal for a king, prince, or any type of royalty to drive their own car.

"Welcome back, Ichinose-sama. Did everything go well?" The driver asked. Tokiya wondered if he was doing it to be polite or he was just being nosey. "Yes, everything went fine." Tokiya lied again. "You came back earlier than I would've anticipated, are you certain?" "Yes, I'm sure." His tone was colder this time. No king liked to be questioned. He and Ren would have to work on timing as well, even if they'd had an argument. No matter what they did, it seemed people would still suspect things. Tokiya couldn't wait to get home and read a book, have a bath, or anything he could do to distress.

The car ride was silent. When they arrived at Tokiya's mansion, he walked promptly inside, wanting to get away from the tiresome driver and just relax. He was walking to his room, when a maid came up to him. "Excuse me, Ichinose-sama, King Camus is here to see you. He's in the sitting room." Tokiya sighed. Of course he was here, there was no way Tokiya could be able to relax. "Alright, I'll be right there."

In the sitting room, Camus was drinking some tea and sitting on a chair. Tokiya opted for the couch. "Nice to see you again, Ichinose-san." "You too, King Camus." The reason why Tokiya was calling him King Camus was because Camus was the 'king of all kings'. Or at least, the son of the retired 'king of all kings'. He inherited the name. His father was the most successful king, his projects helping the world greatly. He was the king that helped deal with most issues in the world and was also the one who invented the original A.I. pets.

"How did your outing go? Were you at Ren-san's house?" Ren-san, that was new. Camus has only ever called him Jinguji-san. Maybe the new development was because Ren refused to call Camus anything but Camus-kun. Tokiya thought that might be the wrong thing to do, seeing it could be used against him and Camus if people thought the were too good of friends, but Camus kept strictly to formality, so it seemed less suspicious. That is, until now. Tokiya didn't consider Camus to be friends with Ren, nor himself, so he wondered what this visit was about.

"Yes, I was at Jinguji-san's house." Tokiya answered. Camus smiled a little, like he knew something Tokiya didn't. Could it be he knew about their friendship? Or something else? Perhaps he and Ren should be worried that Camus is planning something. "Ren-san ordered one of the hybrids, didn't he? Do you know if it's working correctly? Were there any bugs?" "I don't think so, Ren didn't mention anything about there being a problem with it. Is that why you're here?" "It would seem so. I was the one who invented the hybrids." "If don't mind my asking, why didn't you ask Ren yourself?" " I also came to see you, Ichinose-san. I like to check up on the other kings from time to time." That's right, Camus didn't like Ren. That's probably another reason why he asked Tokiya instead of Ren. Maybe he didn't like Ren because he acted like he and Camus had known each other forever, when they had never been close. Tokiya wonders why he does that, he even asked Ren. Ren said just said he does it because it's fun.

"Ichinose-san?" "Hmm? My apologies, I spaced out for a moment." He was doing that a lot, most likely because he just needed some to time to relax. "What were you saying?" "I was asking you if you were considering buying a hybrid. After the testing is completed, of course." "I'm not very interested in that sort of thing." "That's a shame. I thought you'd be the type to want one." Tokiya raised an eyebrow, wondering what that meant, but he decided it was better if he didn't ask. "So, does Ren-san like his?" "Yes, he seems to be liking it." A little too much. "That's good. Perhaps I'll go see him myself, and make sure everything's alright." "I'm sure he would like to see you very much." Camus raised an eyebrow. Did what he said sound weird? It did, didn't it? It made it sound like Ren liked Camus or something akin to that. It sounded like he liked him in the way he likes Ai. "I-I mean, Ren hasn't seen you in awhile, so...you should catch up?" Why did it come out like a question? Camus was married too, it made it all the times worse. "I know what you meant." Camus, said standing up. "Goodbye, Ichinose-san." He probably thought Ren liked him now, didn't he? Great. Saying goodbye wasn't reassuring, he realized, it just made you feel worse.

* * *

"You know I also have an arcade. And a hot tub." Ren said, opening a book and then closing it again. "You don't like reading?" Ai asked, looking at him. Why did he have to look so cute? Ren sighed. "Sometimes I do, but I'll admit I don't enjoy it that much." "When I was learning to read they didn't let me read anything this interesting. How can you not like it?" At least he found something Ai likes. Ren shrugged. "I associate books with learning. School was so boring for me. Did you like learning?" Ai nodded. "Most things, yes." "Mm, I see."

Ren opened and closed the same book again, then again, and again. He'd didn't even know what book it was, and hardly realized he was doing it. "How old are you Ai?" Ren asked. "Technically two years." Ren laughed awkwardly. "Is there an age you're modeled to be?" "Wouldn't that be in my manual, I don't-" Ai suddenly gasped. "What is it?" Ren asked, stopping what he was doing with the book. "What is this place?" Ai murmured. "Ai," Ren said, laughing nervously again. He got up stood behind Ai, to see what he was looking at. It was a book of paintings, and the place Ai was looking at was meadow that had waterfall by it. "Oh, that? It's not real. It's just a panting." "It is?" He sounded unemotional, but Ren was sure Ai was disappointed. "There are places like that, though. We can go there if you want." "Will it look like this?" "If you want it to." Ai nodded, and Ren decided he'd have to find a meadow where there was a waterfall that looked exactly like that one.

"Jinguji-sama, King Camus is here." That same maid came in. What was her name? This would really drive Ren crazy if he didn't find out. "Did he say why?" Ren asked. The maid shook her head. "I'll be right there." After she left, Ren sighed. "People keep interrupting us, don't they? I'll be back, do you want to stay here?" "Do you want me to-" "Ai." Ren said, more sternly than he meant too. He thought they were above this and Ai could tell him what he liked and what he didn't, what he wanted to do and what he didn't. But they did only know each other for a day, Ren now realized. It would probably take longer than that for Ai to be comfortable with him. "I'll stay here." Ai decided.

Ren walked out to the entrance way to see King Camus. "It's getting late, Camus-kun. What are you doing here?" Ren said, sounding a little unwelcoming. He couldn't help it, he interrupted his time with Ai and made him snap at him. "I've come to see if you were liking your new hybrid. I'll be short." "No, no, it's alright." Ren said, settling into his usual facade. He knew Camus didn't like him, it was just fun to do this. "Camus-kun, did you have dinner yet? Would you like to eat over here?" "No, I have somewhere to be after this. Like I said, I'll keep it short." "If you insist, Camus-kun. Come have a seat."

Ren showed him to the sitting room. He and Tokiya always sat in the office because Ren liked it better. Ironically, it was more comfortable. "So, what did you want to talk about again?" Ren asked, purposely making Camus repeat it. He knew it was annoying, that's why he did it. "Your hybrid. I wondered if you liked it." "Yes, he's rather interesting." Camus raised an eyebrow. Did he say something wrong? Wait...he said 'he' not 'it'. Oops. What did it matter anyway, he could use either one, couldn't he? "I'm glad your taking a liking to _him_." Camus said, putting an emphasis on the word 'him', seemingly trying to make Ren realize his mistake. Oh no, that's also what Tokyia said, wasn't it? Taking a liking to him. He think Ren likes him more than what he should.

"He's a nice toy." Ren internally cringed. He said 'he' again, didn't he? It! He had to remember say it! Was that so hard? "It seems you like him a lot." Camus said, without putting an emphasis on the word him this time. Ren wondered why. Maybe he was still trying to make him realize his mistake somehow. "Yes, I'm glad I ordered it." Ren said, trying to fix what he said. "I didn't just come to ask you about your hybrid Ren-san, I've come to give you this." Camus took an envelope out of his coat pocket. "Oh? What's this?" Ren said, taking it from Camus. "You can open it when I'm gone. Let me know if you have any questions. About your A.I or the envelope. I'll be leaving now, goodbye Ren-san." Camus got up and headed toward the entrance. "Bye, Camus-kun." Ren hoped everything was fine. He hoped he didn't sound too weird. He also wondered what that envelope was, but he'd open it later. He had to get back to Ai right now.

Ren walked back into the library where Ai was. "Did you find anything interesting while I was gone?" Ren asked, sitting back in his seat. Ai shook his head. "I found this recipe book, but it's difficult to understand." "What's difficult about it?" Ren got up to look at the book. It had normal baking ingredients, flour and sugar and things like that. "I don't understand it." If Ren listened carefully he could just hear a slight hint of frustration in Ai's voice. It seemed Ai liked knowledge and knowing everything, and things he couldn't understand frustrated him. "What don't you understand? I'll help you." Ren said, sitting back down on his chair and patting his lap. Ai sat down, and Ren held the book in front of both of them. Of course, Ai didn't blush or anything like that. Ren didn't really expect him too anymore. "What's this say?" Ai asked, pointing at the word flour. "That says flour. It's a sort of white powder used for baking." "Do people eat it?" Ai asked, looking at Ren. Ren chuckled, he was so adorable. "Only in cookies and things like that." "What's this?" Ai asked, pointing to the word sugar. "That's sugar, it white too, and used to make things sweet. It also looks like salt, which you shouldn't mix it up with because salt give things a salty taste." "What does salt taste like?" "It taste like...why don't you try it?" Ai shook his head. "I'd rather know more about these things." Ren chuckled again. He was lucky to have picked such a cute A.I.

"Jinguji-sama, dinner's ready." The _same_ maid came in and Ren needed to know her name _now_. Ren looked at Ai. "This is my pet, Ai." Ren thought maybe introducing him would make her do the same. "Nice to meet you, Ai. I'm a maid of Jinguji-sama's." Of course she didn't say her name. "I hope you don't mind my asking, but could you..." Ren would never ask her name directly, that would be admitting he forgot. He had to think of something else. "Could you introduce yourself properly?" "Forgive me, Jinguji-sama. I'm Rin Nanase, it is a pleasure to meet you." How could Ren forget a name that was so similar to his own? Ren had no idea.

"Can you cook something quick for him to?" Ren asked. He was hungry and he didn't want to dwell on the fact that he forgot the maid's name anymore. The maid, Rin, heisted a moment before saying. "Yes, Jinguji-sama."

After she left, Ai was looking at him with his head titled to the side. "What?" Ren asked. "You refered to me as 'him' not 'it'." Why did he keep doing that? Ren sighed. "I started doing it without realizing it. Just correct when I do it, okay?" Ren told him. Ai nodded. "But you also asked the maid to give me food, aren't I supposed to eat pet food?" Of course, Ren had another slip up. Why was he doing stuff like this anyway? Yes, he found Ai attractive, but that was it. He was just a toy, just something to entertain him. He would find a women that he would love one day, and he would marry her. "Hybrids can eat human food, it said that in your manual." Ren said. It was true, he seen that when he skimmed the manual.

Since it might be a minute untill dinner Ren decided to open the envelope now. He took it out of his jacket pocket. "What's that?" Ai asked. "Something Camus-kun gave me." Ren said, opening the envelope. It was an invitation to a party, one that pets must come to. Hybrids were encouraged and some would be there to look at. "It looks like we got invited to a party." Ren said. "When is it?" "In a couple of weeks." He honestly didn't want to go. It'd be all stuffy, and there'd be no time to annoy Camus, although he could probably find time. Tokiya wouldn't be going, although Ren really didn't think he wanted him to. It'd just be an all around boring, stuffy, and horrible event. At least Ai would be there, but everyone would probably want to look at his hybrid, he wouldn't want that. But he had to go, even though he didn't want to. This was one of Camus' parties. Not showing up would look odd.

"Jinguji-sama, the food's ready!" A maid called. It was probably Rin. Why was she the one to talk him so much today anyway? Wasn't there other maids in his mansion? "Are you ready to eat?" Ren asked Ai. Ai nodded, and they proceeded to go to the dinning room.

* * *

Thanks for reading the story! Rin Nanase, I think that name came about because I'm RinHaru shipper.


	2. AIs are Humans, aren't they?

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed!

If you like this story, I wrote some Crack!AU one-shots based on this story. The story's called Their Quirky Little Family, and it's TokiyaxRenxAixOtoya.

Disclaimer: I don't own Uta no Prince-sama.

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"Did you enjoy dinner?" Ren asked. Ai nodded. "It was good." He said simply. They ate a good dinner and had small talk, but now Ren wanted to do something special with Ai. What that was, he didn't know. I mean, come on, they had a whole mansion to themselves. Surely he could think of _something_. They could go to his hot tub. Would that be okay for a first night? Ren decided against it. Maybe not so soon, even though it probably wouldn't make Ai blush anyway. Was there anything that could make the android blush?

"Do you want to go to my arcade?" Ren asked. Ai preferred the library, but they were there earlier, and Ren didn't seem to like it. But if Ren knew that he was going to the arcade to please him, he would probably make them go to the library. So Ai nodded. He wouldn't be a good pet if he didn't do things his master liked.

Ren leaded him to the arcade. There was an air hockey table, some motorcycle racing game, darts, and any other game you could think of. Ai wasn't practically interested in any of them, but if this is what his master wanted to do, he could put up with it. "What do you want to do first?" Ren asked. "What do you like?" "Ai," Ren said slightly sternly. "I'm just curious." Ai explained. "Oh. Well personally, I like darts." Ren said, picking up one and aiming. He threw one and it hit the center perfectly. "Want to try, Kitten?" Ren asked, testing his nickname for Ai. He only said it once before but he decided he liked the way it sounded.

Ai nodded. He walked over and Ren put his arm around his waist, putting the dart in Ai's hand while Ren wrapped his own hand around Ai's. "The secret to darts is focus, once you've got that down, it'll be easy. Even if you're not focused." Ren said, completely contradicting himself. Ai decided Ren wouldn't be a good teacher. "You just aim," Ren explained, aiming the dart. "Pull back, and throw." Ren said, doing exactly that. It landed right next to the dart Ren threw before. "See?" Ren said, smiling. Ai hands did learn the movements that Ren taught him, but it might've been more sufficient to try to do it himself. "Can I try it now?" Ren nodded and moved back. Ai mimicked what Ren did, and it hit right next to their two other ones. "Good job, Ai." Ren came over and put his arms around Ai's waist. He then kissed him on the cheek. "I'm so glad I picked you. You're perfect." Ren whispered into Ai's ear. "I'm glad you like me." "Do you like me?"

Ai thought about it. Ren was nice, considering how other masters could be. Ren wasn't displeasing to look at either. Not that royalty, especially kings, were. Ren let him look at the books and helped him when he didn't understand things. "I enjoy your company." Ai answered honestly. Ren smiled, although that wasn't what he wanted to hear. He was glad Ai enjoyed his company, but he at least wanted to know if Ai thought he was attractive. "Come here," Ren said, going over the air hockey table. He turned it on. "Do you know how to play?" Ren asked. Ai nodded and walked over to him. Ren put the air hockey mallets on the table and slid one across the table over to Ai, then put the puck on the table, getting ready to serve."Ready?" He asked. Ai nodded.

Ai actually did pretty good against Ren, considering no one has ever beaten him. Ai almost did, but on the last point Ren got him. "You almost got me." Ren said, smirking. "Next time." Ai said. "Of course." Ren said, not thinking Ai could beat him. No one ever said Ren wasn't arrogant. "So, do you want to do something else?"

Finally it was time for them to go to sleep. Ren was excited but, if he admitted it to himself, also kind of nervous. Which was stupid because he was _Ren Jinguji_ , one of the most attractive kings, at lest in his opinion. And it wasn't like he had crush on Ai. Not exactly, but he did find Ai _highly_ attractive. Currently Ren was just lounging on the bed with his sweatpants on and no shirt. He was waiting for Ai to come out of his bathroom after he was finished getting ready for bed. He gave him a spare toothbrush an extra things that they had in the mansion. He also gave him an extra pair of his pajamas which would be too big on him, but Ren did that purposely. He figured his A.I. would look especially cute in those clothes. "Are you ready for bed, Kitten?" Ren called, getting a bit impatient. He was waiting for Ai to come out to see if he would blush, which he probably wouldn't. But Ren could always try, and he wouldn't stop trying until Ai blushed. Just _once_ , he wanted to see it.

Ai opened the door, the long sleeve shirt to long for him and the pants too. Ai's hair was also down, which made him look even cuter. "Come over here." Ren said. Ai closed the bathroom door and walked over to the bed. He got on the bed and sat down next to Ren. "Some of your new clothes should be ready tomorrow." They got Ai measured before they went to bed, someone was working on his clothes right at this very moment. "That's good." Ai said, lifting his arms up a little and examining how long the selves were on him. "It's kind of a shame, with how cute you look with my pajamas on." Ren said. Ai turned off the light on night stand and then laid down. Did Ai just ignore him...? Ren chuckled at the thought. He wasn't used to being ignored. He kind of liked it. "Goodnight Ai." He said to his kitten. "Goodnight Master."

* * *

Tokiya went over to Ren's house after breakfast. He decided that the fight was stupid, and even though a King's ego is bigger than average, Tokiya could apologize this time, because he did come across sort of rude after all. It was Ittoki who answered the door again. "Welcome back, Ichinose-sama." Ittoki said, bowing. It wasn't necessary, no one bowed to kings. "Thank you Ittoki-san, but you don't need to bow to me." Truthfully it made him feel awkward. "S-sorry." Ittoki stuttered, standing up straight. "D-do you need anything?" "I would like to see Jinguji-san." "He's still eating breakfast, but I'll let him know you're here." Ittoki walked off, probably to the main dining room. Tokiya forgot that Ren sleeps in later than him, sometimes much later. Once Ren told him he didn't get up until three in the afternoon.

Just then Ren came walking into the foyer, followed by Ittoki. "Tokiya-san, you wanted to see me? I'm having breakfast with Ai, so make it quick." Tokiya could not believe how casually Ren said that. In front of a servant too. Tokiya wanted to apologize, but that didn't make what he said any less true. Ren was getting to close to his A.I. Tokiya noticed how he referred to Ai as 'he' instead of 'it'. Ren might not look like it, but when he really talks to people, people that don't work for him or he doesn't have to be careful around, he can get close to them fairly quickly. After all, he cared for Tokiya's cousin Masato as if he were Ren's younger brother on the first day he and Masato met. Tokyia and Ren also became friends fairly quickly. Basically, if Ren deems you're worth his time he can get attached to you pretty easily. If Ren cared enough to get to know you he could become your best friend. But this was also dangerous for Ren, because he sometimes did trust people to easily.

"Tokiya-san, did you come here to say something or to stare at me all day?" Ren asked, startling him from his thoughts. "Let's talk somewhere in private." Tokiya suggested. He didn't want to apologize in front of Ittoki, who was still standing there. "Alright, but please be quick." Ren said, walking toward his office.

After they were both settled, Ren on his desk chair and Tokiya on the couch, Tokiya got right to it, less he waste anymore time. "I apologize for yesterday." Ren sighed. "It's fine, it was a stupid fight anyway." Tokiya was gald Ren wasn't mad, he didn't usually hold grudges over stupid things like that. It was when you got Ren _really_ mad that you had to watch out.

"I'm glad you realize that he's just a toy." Tokiya realized he couldn't let it go. Even if Ren tried not to, he would continue to talk as if it was completely normal for him to like his pet. "You do realize you're calling it 'he', right?" "Dammit, I did it again." Ren mumbled. It probably wasn't intended for Tokiya to hear. "So you've been doing it a lot?" Tokiya questioned. "It's none of your business. It doesn't even concern you, so why are you asking?" Ren asked, getting defensive. "Because Ren, you need to realize that you see Ai as more than a pet whether it be romantically or not. Before you get upset I'm only saying this because I'm actually worried about you. At least in public you need to call Ai 'it', otherwise you could get into trouble." "I don't see him as more than just a toy Tokiya, I told you that." Ren snapped, starting to get angry. "You called it 'him' again." Tokiya said. Ren sighed, frustrated. "I don't know what's going on." He admitted. "Do you like it?" "No, I don't." Ren said. "I find him cute and all, but I don't think I like him _like that_." "But you do care about it, you see it as a person, not a pet, and because of that you need to be carful." "I know, I know, stop lecturing me Tokiya. I'm going to go finish my insanely cold breakfast, we can talk about this later." Ren walked out. Tokiya sighed. He just hoped Ren was carful and nothing bad came of this.

* * *

"You know, I think he really likes you." Otoya said, while picking up Ai's plate. It'd been awhile since Ren left and he told Ai not to wait for him, so he didn't. "What do you mean?" "I mean I think he likes you a lot. It seems as if he starting to see you as something other than a pet." "You mean, a human?" "Mhmm." Ai didn't know how to feel about that. Should he like that Ren saw him as a person, or should he dislike that Ren didn't see him for what he was? Or should he be indifferent about the whole thing, seeing as that was how he was programed to feel. But Ren seemed to want him to have opinions, so he'd have to work harder on that.

"Do you think that's a good thing?" It would be okay if he got his opinion from someone else. After all Ren wouldn't know. "I think so. Even if I was a pet, I would like to be treated as a human, as an equal." "As an equal? But Master's a king. We can't be his equals." Otoya sighed. "I guess you have a point there. But at least he stopped calling you 'it'." "He told me to correct him when he did it, but it seems he can't stop." Ai didn't understand why. "That's because he starting to see you as a person." Otoya told him again. Ai still wasn't sure if he liked it. Would that create trouble for Ren? Or should he like it? Did Ren like it? Or was Ren upset by it? Maybe he should ask Ren how he felt about it, and Ai could form an opinion based on that. But then it wouldn't really be his opinion, would it? This was starting to become frustrating, which was something Ai didn't know he could feel.

"Do you need anything else Ai-san?" Otoya asked. It was strange, since people usually didn't use honorifics for pets. "Do you see me as a person?" Ai asked. Otoya nodded. "I do." Ai didn't know how to feel about that either. "Anything else?" Otoya asked again. "No." Ai answered. He'd just have to sit here and wait for Ren to come back, which he hoped was soon. He had some questions he really wanted to ask him.

* * *

"Jinguji-sama, King Camus is waiting in the sitting room for you." A maid informed Ren. A different one from yesterday, thankfully. Ren was upset that everyone seemed to want to interrupt his time with Ai. But he guessed it was sort of a good thing. He didn't need to be with him every second of every day. "I'll be right there." Ren told her, walking to dining room first to go see Ai.

"Ai, it looks like I won't be back for awhile, you can go to my room and read or watch some TV if you want." Ren told Ai when he came into the dining room. Ai nodded, getting out of the chair and walking to his room. Was it him, or did Ai look slightly disappointed? Maybe he missed Ren. He did say he enjoyed his company. He'd have to spend some more time with him after Camus left.

"Otoya-san, you can take my plate." Ren told Otoya who was standing in the room for some reason. "Yes, Jinguji-sama." Ren went to the sitting room to see King Camus. For some reason Camus always looked angry, that's why it was so fun for Ren to bother him. His expression never changed, and Ren hoped that maybe one day it would.

"Ren-san, nice to see you again." Camus said, although it probably wasn't. "You too Camus-kun." Ren said, taking a seat. "To what do I owe the pleasure of you visiting two days in a row?" "I just wanted to come to see if you were coming to my party." Camus said, getting straight to business. Couldn't he have just called for that? Or better yet, had someone email him or something?

"Yes, I'll be attending." Ren said. Why wouldn't he be? "I'll get straight to the point then," So that wasn't the point of his visit, then. "You're relationship with your hybrid is none of my business, but you do know that you cannot call him 'he' in public. Epically not in front of other royals."

"Why are warning me? And didn't you just call him 'him'?" Ren asked, caught off guard. "That's because I see A.I.s as people too. But it would not be good if people found out." First Tokiya coming to warn him, and now Camus? Was he going to be lectured all day?

"I'm working on the 'it' thing." Ren told him. There really wasn't any use of denying it anymore. "You don't have time to work on it. You have to do it. Are you doing it in front of your servants as well?" Ren sighed. "Yes." He admitted. "Do you trust them?" "I don't really know them all that well." "Then you shouldn't be doing it in front of them. Listen, Ren-san. If you don't want anything to happen to you or your hybrid, you need to be carful." "I know that." Ren snapped. He was tired of everyone telling him to be carful. Don't they think he knows that?

"You need to listen Ren-san, this isn't just about you. If you really do care for your hybrid, in whatever way that may be, you need to do it for him." He didn't want anything to happen to Ai, even if their relationship was sort of complicated.

"Did you have a pet before?" Ren asked, deciding to change the subject. "Yes, I did have an A.I." "Do you still have them?" After a moment, Camus said, "No, I had to let her go. It was far to dangerous for her and myself." "You think I should give Ai up?" "If you get yourself under control I don't see why you should have to. Just put some effort into it and you should be able to remember to call him 'it' in public." "I _am_ putting in effort." Ren snapped. He made it sound like Ren wasn't putting in any effort at all. He did admit, to himself at least, that he could put in a little more. Ren was just glad he didn't have to give Ai up, because he didn't think he could if it came down to it.

"That may be true, but you have to put in more. I have to leave, but if you have any questions contact me. I wouldn't do it so soon seeing as I visited you two days in row, but if it's an emergency contact me immediately." Ren nodded. It wasn't like if there was an emergency dealing with Ai he would hesitate to contact Camus. Camus liked to tell Ren the obvious, didn't he?

Camus left and Ren decided he'd go talk to Ai. Not anything about Camus' visit, just to spend some time with him. Ai didn't need know about this. Ren headed to his room.

"Master." Ai said when Ren walked in, looking up from a book he was reading with his eyes slightly wide. It was one of the first real sort of expression Ai had made since he brought him, and it was so cute Ren couldn't resist the urge to laugh a little. Ren walked over and sat next to Ai. "What are you reading?" "A book about your family." "Oh?" Ren said, his eyes scanning one of the pages. It was some boring thing about how his family came to be royals. But if Ai liked it, he was happy to let him read it.

"Can I ask you a question?" Ai said. "Of course." "Are you referring to me as 'he' and 'him' because you're starting to see me as more of a human?" Ren supposed he should've guessed Ai would figure it out. Ai was smart.

He sighed, then answered honestly. "Yes." "Are you upset about it?" "No, not at all." Ren said, shaking his head. He didn't want Ai to think that it made him upset. "Are you?" Ren asked. He didn't consider how this would make Ai feel. "I don't know." Ai said. "Do you want me to refer to you as 'it'?" He'd do it if that was what Ai wanted. "...No" Ai said after awhile. "Then I won't. But I will have to in public." Ren said. "Why?" Ai asked. "Because people aren't really used to people referring to pets any other way than 'it'. If you do it can cause...complications." Ren tried to put it in the simplest way possible. It wasn't that Ai wasn't smart, it's just he didn't really want him to know that it was sort of dangerous for their relationship to be different then pet and master.

"Otoya-san calls me 'Ai-san'. Is that bad?" Ai asked. "He does?" Ai nodded. Why would Otoya do that? Did he see Ai as something other than a pet? He didn't _like_ Ai, did he? He'd just have to have a talk wit Otoya later.

"He really shouldn't do that, but it is less complicated than if I were to do that." "How come?" "Because it's dangerous." Ren said, deciding to just be honest. "How so?" "Because it just is!" Ren said, not really yelling but not talking at a normal volume either. Ai looked down, away from Ren. He didn't exactly look hurt, but Ren was sure he was. Ren didn't like being questioned, no king did. And he usually didn't feel bad when he snapped at someone who did. But Ren felt bad now, which was strange. Maybe it was because the people he snapped at before weren't as cute as Ai. "I'm sorry." Ren said, sighing. He was doing that alot. He didn't mean to snap at Ai, he was just frustrated at their situation. "You can punish me if I was being bad. You are my master." Ai said, still not looking at Ren.

Ren was about to tell him he wasn't going to, that he didn't mean to snap at him, when a maid came in. "Jinguji-sama, your pet's room is ready." "Okay." Ren said, sending her the nastiest glare ever. The maid walked out of the room quickly. "Do you want to go see your new room?" Ren asked Ai. Ai nodded.

When they walked in Ren realized it really was a pet's room. When he looked around he realized there was a normal bathroom and closet, but the room looked _exactly_ like Ai was an animal, and Ren no longer viewed him as such. The things he order were there, the pet bed and food bowls, along with other pet things like pet toys. His room needed to change.

"I don't like it." Ren said. "Are you going to change it?" Ai asked. "Unless you like it. You can tell me honestly, I won't get mad. I promise." Ren would have to work on his temper. "I wish there were some books." "Then books will be added. Anything else?" Ai shook his head. "Do you mind if I make your room a little more...human?" Ren asked. "I don't mind." This was probably a bad idea, but he didn't want Ai to live like this. Thankfully Ai didn't mind.

"I'll go tell them about your new room. Do you know how to work the internet?" Ren asked. He thought Ai might want a computer in his room. Ai would probably enjoy being able to look up facts any time he wants, and not just be limited to the books in the library. Ai shook his head. "I'll teach you. I'll be right back." Ren said before going to find a maid to tell about the new room preparations.

Ai's new room would be ready later tonight. He was about to go back to Ai, but then he spotted Otoya. He needed to have a talk with him first. "Otoya-kun." Ren said. Otoya jumped, then turned around startled by what Ren called him. "Yes, Jinguji-sama?" "Let's talk somewhere more private." Ren said, pulling him into his office.

"Ai told me you called him Ai-san, is that true?" Ren asked. "Y-ye-yes it is, Jinguji-sama." Otoya said, looking scared for his life.

Good.

"Do you see Ai as a person?" Ren asked. "Y-yes." " _Do you like Ai_?" Ren asked, his tone so scary that Otoya flinched. "N-no-not like that!" Otoya said frantically. "Are you sure?" "Y-yes!" Ren suddenly smiled. "Good, it seems we have nothing to worry about. Thank you, Otoya-kun." Ren said before walking out of his office.

He went back to Ai who was still in his room, looking in the walk in closet now. "At least they gave you nice clothes." Ren said, walking into the closet behind Ai. "You startled me." Ai said, not sounding startled at all. Even if Ren thought he saw some sort of emotion sometimes, Ai was still pretty stoic. But then, when he walked in before Ai did have a pretty big expression, his eyes going wide in all. Ren was happy to have gotten a reaction out of him. "Sorry, Kitten." Ren said.

"Is there anything you want to do today?" Ren asked. "Don't you have something to do? You are a King." Ren laughed. "Do you want to get rid of me?" "No, I just wanted to make sure you weren't forgetting about any work." "I'm not missing anything important, don't worry." "Then...could we go to the kitchen?" Ai asked. "Are you hungry?" Ai shook his head. "Not really. I just wanted to try salt." Ren chuckled. "Ai, you've already had salt." "I have?" "Yes, I'm pretty sure they've seasoned something you ate with it." "Oh. But I still don't know what it taste like." "We can go taste some if you want, but we should try it on a pretzel or something, because salt on it's own taste really bad. They might be making something sweet too." "Like with sugar?" Ren nodded. "You should try it."

They went into the kitchen. "You're making brownies? Why didn't you tell me?" Ren asked the kitchen staff. He loved brownies, and he liked to be notified if someone was making them. "Sorry, Jinguji-sama, we were going to tell you after they were done." The head chef said. He was an old man who was working there since Ren was a kid. "Is that the left over brownie mix?" Ren asked, pointing to a bowel that was mostly empty. The head chef hesitated before saying, "Yes, it is." Ren took it and got two spoons out of a draw. "That's not healthy, Jinguji-sama." The chef said. "It's not that bad." Ren said walking over to a counter with Ai in the vast kitchen, away from the staff. "Want some?" Ren asked. "Dose that have sugar in it?" Ai asked. "It does, and they're making cookies and those defiantly have sugar in them. Try it, it's good." Ren said, holding out a spoon with brownie mix on it. Ai took the spoon and tasted it. "It taste good." "I'm glad." Ren smiled, then had some himself. When he was younger he, Tokiya, and sometimes Masato would all eat brownie mix whenever the cooks made brownies. It was an old habit of Ren's, even though he didn't do it as much anymore.

* * *

Later, Ai and him tried the cookies and Ai _loved_ them. At least Ren assumed because he ate elven. "This is really good Master, can we have these cookies again?" Ai asked. "Of course, Kitten. You sure have a sweet tooth, don't you?" Ren said. "Sweet tooth?" Ai asked, titling his head. "It's an expression, it means you really like sweets. I'm sure you'll love the brownies." Ren said, handing Ai one. Ren was the only one eating them, Ai was to mesmerized by the cookies. Ai took a bite. "They're good. The cookies taste better." Ai said. "I'll have to disagree with you on that one." Ren strongly disagreed. Ai might've ate elven cookies, but Ren practically ate a whole pan a brownies by himself as well. Maybe they both had sweet tooths. Maybe Ren should take Ai to a café one day? Ai would love that, wouldn't he? He should think of more things for them to do together in general. Hmm, what could they do tomorrow?


	3. The AI Party

Summary: Ai and Ren go to Camus' party, and new feelings are discovered.

Sorry for not updating in awhile! Hopefully I can update more frequently, or at least update Their Quirky Little Family, a story linked to this more frequently.

Thanks for reading!

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Soon enough it had been two weeks, it was time for Camus' party. Ren wasn't very thrilled, considering it was going to boring like most royal parties were. Tokiya probably wouldn't be attending, he didn't have a pet, and he'd have to bring Ai there with one of those _things_. When you take pets out you're usually expected to keep them on a leash. Normally you take it off when you get inside, but at parties you don't, because it's crowded and you don't want the pet going somewhere they're not supposed to. It's considered polite. Ren was expected to follow this rule, if he didn't he would probably become known as the 'impolite king'. Ren would like to keep his reputation as the 'king with no respect for personal space' or 'king who flirts to much' or even the 'king who likes to annoy people who are stoic'. So Ren would have to put Ai on a leash, even if he didn't want to. Ren wondered how Ai would feel about it, if the leash would bother him or he'd be okay with it. Maybe he'd just be indifferent about the whole thing. Ren briefly wondered if he expecting too much from Ai, seeing as he was a robot and robots were not supposed to have emotions or opinions. He quickly dismissed the thought. Ai did have opinions, and Ren at least thought he had feelings. Ren thought Ai had expressions that were just to small for anyone else to notice. That made Ren sound a bit delusional, so he just thought about something else all together. The party. He had to get ready for the party. Ai did too.

He just had to finish tying his tie. He would've been done by now but he'd gotten distracted, and was just staring into the mirror thinking about Ai. He finished up and then went into Ai's room. It had been renovated since last time. There was now a queen bed instead of a pet bed, and there was night stand with a lamp and a book Ai was reading on it. There was a big bookshelf too, filled with all the topics Ai could ever want to read about. There was a desk in the corner with laptop on it. Ren had shown him how to use the internet and Ai was fairly good at it, picking it up pretty quickly. Well he _was_ extremely smart, so it really wasn't much of a surprise. There was a couch, a chair, and a coffee table, but no TV. Ren made sure they didn't put a TV in Ai's room, if Ai wanted to watch TV he'd have to come to his room, which is exactly what Ren wanted. Unfortunately, the plan didn't work out very well, since Ai didn't really care about TV. He would watch it sometimes if he was waiting for Ren in his room, but even that was rare. Usually Ai would just read, or surf the internet for information. Maybe Ren would have to show Ai his hot tub sooner than later, he'd have to find _something_ to entice Ai to come to room. Not that he wasn't already in his room a lot, but Ren wanted him there more.

"Kitten, are you ready?" Ren asked. "No." Ai said, looking slightly frustrated with his tie. "I'll help you." Ren said, walking over and tying Ai's tie for him. "You look so..." Ren realized he was going to say cute, because that's what he said and thought about Ai all the time, but no, he realized, standing there looking at Ai in his suite in the full length mirror that matched the one in his own room. Ai didn't look cute. He looked sexy. "What?" Ai asked when Ren didn't go on. "You look so beautiful, especially kissable tonight." Ren said, playing with Ai's hair. Ai had just seduced him in a mere two seconds without doing anything other than putting on a suit. "You look nice too." Ren was shocked. Did Ai actually complement him? Scratch that, did Ai actually find him attractive? "You think so?" Ren said, smiling now. "Yes," "You look nice too." "You already said that." Ai informed him. "I had to say it twice. I had to make sure you know how attractive you are right now." What Ren said wasn't a lie, Ai did look very attractive right now, but these two particular sentences had been an attempt to make Ai blush. Of course, like the others, it hadn't worked. "We should go now." Ai said, walking away from Ren and toward the door. Ren chuckled. He still was trying to get used to someone ignoring him, but it wasn't bad, not at all. It was the opposite in fact. He liked it when Ai did it.

"Wait Ai," Ren said. Ai turned around. "There's something I forgot to tell you." Forgot, didn't want to, a mixture of both really. "What is it Master?" "Well, you see, the thing is..." Ren said, scratching the back of his neck. Was he _nervous_? Why was that? Maybe it was because he was afraid of what Ai's reaction would be, he didn't want him to be upset. "Pets are expected to be kept on a leash when they go out. Usually you can take them off when you get inside, but at parties you can't because it's crowded. It's considered polite. I don't want to, but I'm going to have to put a leash and collar on you for the party. Are you okay with that?" "Yes." Ren let out a sigh of relief. "Good, I didn't know what I would do if you weren't. I'll go get it, then we can go."

Ren came back with the leash and collar, then put it around Ai's neck. "Is it too tight?" Ren asked, wanting to make sure he didn't hurt Ai. "No," Ren looked at Ai. He looked good with just the suit, but now with the collar? Ren didn't know what he was going to do anymore. "Ai, can you grow cat ears and tail for me?" Ren asked. He told himself he wasn't going to ask him that anymore, that now that he saw Ai as person he wouldn't tell him to look like an animal unless he wanted to, but he couldn't help it. He thought Ai would look extremely good with the cat ears and tail added to the picture. Ai did as he was told, and after he did Ren couldn't control himself. He kissed Ai right on the lips. Not the cheek, which he did only a few times, he kissed him on the lips. Ai didn't pull back, and Ren took it as a sign to keep going, so he kept kissing Ai, letting go of the leash and putting arms around Ai pulling him as close to him as he could possibly get. Ai tasted _so_...Ren didn't know how to describe it, but it was exactly how he thought Ai would taste like. Way too quickly, they both had to pull back for air. Ren would've liked it if it could've kept going a little longer.

"Did you like it?" Ren asked, smirking. Ai didn't say anything, just simply started at him and tried to catch his breath. "I did." He finally said after awhile. "So you like me, Ai?" Ren asked. He asked him once before and Ai said he enjoyed his company. This time he hoped the answer would be different. "I like being around you." Just because it was worded differently did _not_ make it a different answer. "No Ai, I mean _like_ me. As in romantically." Ai didn't say anything for awhile again. "No." Ai finally answered. That wasn't the answer he was expecting, not in the least. "Why did kiss me then?" "Because you're my master. I'm supposed to. I'm supposed to make you happy." "I don't want you kiss me if you don't like me." "I'm sorry, Master. I'm not capable of liking anyone romantically. That's how I was programed." "I understand. Just forget this ever happened." Ren was completely humiliated and hurt and the last thing he wanted to do was go to a party with Ai. He _finally_ let loose these feelings he kept bottled up and denying, and _this_ is what happens? "Master, I'm sorry." "You already said that." Ren said coldly, repeating what Ai said earlier to him when he tried to tell him how good he looked. "Let's just get going." Ren said, taking the leash and walking with Ai.

* * *

When they got to the party Ai felt it. It was small, almost not noticeable, but it was there. The small pain in Ai's chest. Ai wondered if there was something wrong with him, if he was breaking, but then he thought back to earlier, how upset Ren looked when told him he didn't like him, and he felt it again. What was this feeling? And if it was a feeling that Ai was feeling, did that mean he had emotions? Was he broken? Ai didn't know, it too confusing, especially to confusing to deal with when entering a crowed room with lots of people, so Ai did what thought was best when he didn't know what to do or how to reply. He ignored it. He let Ren drag him to the refreshment table, trying to avoid looking at Ren's expression. "Do you want anything?" Ren asked, looking at him for the first time since they got there. Ai thought the best answer was no, but he wasn't sure if Ren still wanted him to have opinions. What would make things worse, the fact that he wanted something or if he pretended not to? "Some of that." Ai said, pointing to something that jiggled when Ren picked up a plate. "It's called jello." Ren said. He put some on a spoon and looked like he was about to feed Ai, before he hesitated. Ai ate the food off the spoon anyway. "You can feed yourself if you want." Ren told him. "I'm a pet, I need to be fed." He didn't know why but it frustrated it him that Ren didn't want to feed him anymore. Maybe he just liked being fed? Ren didn't do it all the time, but occasionally while they were eating Ren would feed Ai some of his food or the first bite of a new desert Ai had never tried.

"Jinguji-san!" Suddenly someone was coming over to them, making Ai's tail start to twitch. Ren never did tell him to put his cat ears and tail away, they were still there. "Masa~kun, nice to see you." Ren said. Ren had a nickname for this person? Who was he? The first thing Ai noticed about him was his blue hair and it's style. Ai didn't like it. "Jinguji-san, I told you to stop calling me that." "You don't have to be so formal Masa-kun. Nobody's paying attention to us right now, and we're friends. Also, I'll never stop calling you that." "Jinguji." Masa said angrily. "That's better, now try saying Ren-kun. You can do it Masa." "I'm not doing that." Masa glanced at Ai, as if finally noticing him for the first time. "Who's this?" 'Masa' asked. "My pet. He's...it's name is Ai." Ren said. Ai hoped that mess up wouldn't be too much of problem. "Should I introduce myself?" Masa asked. Ai already didn't like him. "Yes." Ren sanpped. "I'm Prince Masato Hijirikawa, it's nice too meet you." Masato said. When Ai didn't say anything, Ren prompted, "Ai?" with a raised eyebrow. "I'm Ai, nice to meet you." "Well that went well. You'll be best friends in no time." He heard Ren mumble. "When did Ren buy you?" Masato asked him. "About two weeks ago." Ai said. "You're a cat? I didn't know Jinguji-san liked cats. I always seen him as more of a dog person." "I'm not a cat, I'm a hybrid." Ai said, his frustration evident in his tone. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

"You have a hybrid?" Another person came over. They had a pet with them, a male A.I. dog. "Yes," Ren said. "I didn't know those were out yet. Mind if we trade for a little while? You can have Taichi here." He said, gesturing to his leash. This _kid_ wanted to take him? Was Ren going to let him? Not that Ren was much older than him. What Ai just thought didn't make much sense, this guy looked sixteen or seventeen, it's not like he was child. "I don't think that's a good idea." "Oh come on, just for a little bit?" The guy looked at him with immature pleading eyes. "Ai?" Ren looked at him. Ren was stupid, of course he had to say yes. He was supposed to not have opinions. He couldn't hold his tongue when it came to Masato, but when it came to a complete stranger Ai wasn't going to put them in a dangerous situation.

"Whatever you want, Master." Ai said the appropriate response, even if he did not want to go with this person at all. "What's your name, kid?" Ren asked. "Aki." "Only for a little while, okay?" Ren said, handing his leash to Aki. "Thank you so much King Ren Jinguji-sama." He said bowing, completely butchering royal edict. "You're welcome." Ren took Taichi's leash. "Let's go show you to my friends." Aki said once they were away from Ren. They went over to another refreshment table, one with more sweets and baked things. "Kotobuki-san!" Aki said a little to loudly as he walked over to a guy who looked older than Ren. He didn't look old, Ai guessed he was somewhere in his early to mid twenties.

"Aki-kun, where's Taichi? And who's this?" Kotobuki asked. "This is Ai, it's a hybird. King Ren gave it to me." He didn't _give_ him to Aki, he just let him borrow him. "You didn't call him that when you talked to him, did you?" Kotobuki asked. "No, when I thanked him I called him King Ren Jinguji-sama." "Aki-kun, when you talk to a king or prince you're supposed to call them by their last name and then add -sama. You should've called him Jinguji-sama." "Ah, sorry Kotobuki-san. But he didn't seem mad." "He let you borrow his hybrid?" "Yeah," Aki said, nodding vigorously. "Your name's Ai?" Kotobuki asked. It took him a moment to realize he was talking to him. "Yes," Ai answered. "How long has Jinguji-sama had you?" "Two weeks." "Do you like living with him?" "Whatever makes Master happy." Kotobuki frowned. "I thought these hybrids were supposed to be more human." "I don't know about that, but I do know they have human setting where they don't have cat or dog ears or tail." Aki said. "That doesn't actually make them more human, does it?" Aki shrugged. Why did Ren want to be with him anyway if he wasn't a human? Shouldn't Master want to be with a human and not a part-animal robot? It didn't make sense. Besides, they couldn't be together anyway. Ren would soon have to marry, and he couldn't marry Ai. Not just because he was a hybrid, but also because he was a male hybrid. Male Royals are supposed to marry women, and vice versa. Especially if that male was a hybrid, it would be horrible for the royal. People might not listen to him anymore, he could even be dethroned, his whole family might loose royal status. Why was Ai thinking about this so much? Maybe he just didn't want his master to get into trouble.

"Ai?" "Yes?" Ai said, snapping out of his daze. "I said, can you feel anything? Are hybrid supposed to feel." Aki said, poking Ai's cheek. "Yes, I can feel it when you poke me." Ai said, trying to keep his frustration from showing in his tone. "I meant emotions. Do you have any?" Aki asked. That was an interesting question. Did Ai have emotions? Ai only knew he had opinions, or at least he _tried_ to have opinions, for his master. But did he have emotions? There was that feeling he couldn't describe, but was that even an emotion? Ai didn't have a clue as to what it was. So then how did he know it was an emotion? Maybe it wasn't. He should probably tell him he didn't have emotions, no matter what the answer was. Otherwise big mouth Aki would go scream it to everyone at the party. "No." Ai answered. "Aww, that's too bad. Taichi doesn't have emotions either. We could have had a lot of fun together." Even if Ai did have emotions he certainly did not want to do anything with him.

"Maybe he does have emotions, we just bring to pull them out." Kotobuki said. "How do we do that?" Aki asked. "Try this," Kotobuki handed him a slice of cake. How was that going to give emotions? Kotobuki seemed mature before, at least more than Aki, but now he just seemed silly. Nevertheless, Ai took a bite. When he did, he couldn't believe it. The chocolate cake tasted so rich, and the cream inside tasted as if it was from heaven. It was the best thing he had ever tasted. "His eyes went wide! He made an expression!" Aki yelled way to loudly. "I told you it would work, no one can resist my cake." Kotobuki said proudly. "So did you like it?" He asked. Ai was reluctent to answer. He'd pretty much just messed up, making an expression. He could get Ren in some serious trouble. But they'd already seen his expression, there was nothing he could do. "Yes," Ai answered. "I'm glad! Do you want some more?" Kotobuki asked. How was he supposed to answer? Were they going to get him taken away from Ren? Or worse, maybe Ren wouldn't want him anymore, and he'd give him to Aki. Ai didn't want that. The reason why he wanted Ren to refer to him as 'him' was because he thought he might get more attached to him, that he wouldn't want to throw him away if he thought of him as a person. Maybe he shouldn't have done that, maybe he should have told him to refer to him as it. Ren had gotten too attached to him.

"Is it okay?" Ai blurted out. He couldn't believe. Making them think he had opinions and emotions was the opposite of what he wanted to accomplish. He didn't want to get thrown away. "Of course it is. Here," Kotobuki handed him back the slice. Ai took another bite, and it still tasted amazing. "If it's okay with Jinguji-sama, maybe you could come over to my bakery sometime." "You have a bakery?" Ai never imagined that. "Mmhm, if you come you can have some free samples." Ai already knew his opinion on this, he wanted to go. Would Ren be okay with that? "Where's you're bakery?" "It's called 'You Knead This Cake'. Get it?" Ai didn't say anything. "I told you it wasn't funny, Kotobuki-san." "One day someone will laugh!" Ai highly doubted that.

"I'll write down the address. Uh, do you have any paper Aki?" Aki shook his head. "Maybe I can text Jinguji-sama the address? If he'd be okay with giving me his phone number?" "I don't think you should ask a king for his phone number, Kotobuki-san. What if he throws you in the dungeon!" "I don't think he'll do that, Aki. If anything he'd send me to jail, but not over a phone number."

"Oh, I just realized we didn't even introduce ourselves. I'm Reiji Kotobuki, and this is Akihisa Tachibana. What's your name?" "Tachibana-san already told you it was Ai." "Do you have a surname?" "I don't know if I have one. You'd have to ask my Master." "What should I call you? Hmm, how about Ai-Ai-kun!" Reji said over enthusiastically. "No," Ai said immediately. He didn't want to be called that. "Oh come on, Ai-Ai-kun~ You'll love the nickname!" "I won't."

"You should let him call you that though, you were lucky enough to be invited to Kotobuki-san's bakery. His sweets are delicious." Aki said, stuffing his face with deserts. "Thank you Aki-kun~" "Ai," Ai turned around to see Ren walking over with Taichi. "Can I have him back now, Aki?" Ren said, smiling sweetly. It was fake, Ai could tell. Ren was upset about something. "Sure, King Ren Jinguji-sama." Aki said, handing Ai's leash back to Ren. Ren handed Taichi's leash back to Aki. "Aki-kun," Reiji whispered. "I-I mean, Jinguji-sama." Aki said, bowing. "You don't bow to royalty, but thanks." Ren said. "S-sorry Jinguji-sama." Aki said. "It's fine. So what were you talking about?" Ren asked, some of the fake sweetness coming back into his voice. "I was just asking Ai-Ai-kun if he wanted to go to my bakery. If that's okay with you Jinguji-sama." "'Ai-Ai-kun'?" Ren asked raising an eyebrow. "Yes, Ai-Ai-kun and I are friends now." Kotobuki said. Friends? Ai was his friend? Ai never had a friend before, he wasn't sure he liked it. Aki wasn't his friend too, was he? Ai knew he didn't want that.

"You are?" Ren asked, looking at Ai. "I don't know. I want to go to his bakery." Ai told him. "I guess it's okay then. Where is it?" "Can I text it you, I don't have anywhere to write it down." Reiji asked. "I guess so." Ren said, giving him his number. Reiji texted him the address. "We'll check it out tomorrow." "Great! I can't wait to see you." Reji said, over enthusiastic again. "Do you have jello?" Ai asked. He remembered the desert from when he came in. He liked it. "Yup." Reiji said.

"We have to go, we'll see you tomorrow." Ren said. "Can I take the cake?" Ai asked Ren. He didn't get a chance to take another bite. "Yeah," Ren said. He took Ai away from them. "Are you upset?" Ai asked. "Why would I be upset?" "You seemed upset with what Kotobuki-san called me. Is it dangerous?" "No, not really." "Then why are you upset?" Ai asked. "Because I just am, can you drop it?" Ren snapped. Ai didn't ask him again, he just ate his cake.

"Tokiya-san?" Ren said, walking up to Tokiya. He must be another one of Ren's friends "What are you doing here? I didn't think you had a pet." "I don't. Sir Camus invited me." "Come to think of it, Masato-san doesn't either. Why is he here?" Ren asked, most likely calling him Masato-san because they were in a more crowded area. "I brought him." Tokiya said. "Is this Ai?" Tokiya raised an eyebrow and looking him over. Ai didn't like it. "Yes, it is. Let's talk over there." Ren said, gesturing to a spot that wasn't as crowded. "Good idea." Ai put down the cake plate before they left.

Once they were over there, Tokyia introduced himself. "I'm King Tokiya Ichinose, it is nice to make your acutance." He extended a hand to him. Ai wasn't sure if he should take. Ren nodded at him, so Ai shook his hand. "What's my surname?" Ai asked Ren. "Mikaze." So Ren put about just as much effort in picking Ai's last name as he did his first name? He could of at least put a little bit more effort. For crying out loud, he was an A.I and his name was Ai, how stupid was that?

"So do you like living with Ren?" Tokiya asked. Why did people keep asking him that question? And why was Tokiya calling Ren by his first name without and honorifics? Ai was about to answer like he did before, but Ren stopped him. "You can answer honestly." "Yes," Ai told Tokiya. "Is he being nice?" Tokiya asked him. Ren scoffed. "Of course I am. I'm always a perfect gentlemen." Ren said, smirking. Tokiya rolled his eyes. "He's nice to me." Ai answered. He was nicer than most pet owners. "I admire you for putting up with this idiot all day." Tokiya said. "You're so mean Icchi." So Ren had a nickname for him to?

A girl suddenly came up to them. "Good evening, Miss Nanami." Tokiya said. "Hello Ichinose-san, Jinguji-san. And who's this?" "Hello, Miss Nanami, this is my pet. It's name is Ai." Nanami smiled. "Hello, Ai." "Hello." Ai said. Nanami turned to Ren. "You call my husband Camus-kun but you call me Miss Nanami? You must like him more than me." So she's the wife of the person who invited him and Ren to this party? He happened to glance at Tokiya, who suddenly had wide eyes for some reason. He was weird. "Forgive me, how's Nanami-chan?" "Perfect. I'll call you Jinguji-kun as well." Nanami said. "Camus is a bit busy at the moment, but he wanted me to ask you if you were enjoying the party." "Yes, thank you, Nanami-chan." "What about you, Ichinose-san?" "Yes, very much." "And you Ai?" She was asking him? Was he enjoying the party? He did eat really good cake, but this whole party was stressful, and he kept meeting annoying people. Masato was annoying, Aki was extremely annoying, Reiji was annoying, even if he made really good cake, and Ai wasn't sure how to feel about Tokiya, but he was probably annoying too. But the most prominent reason that he wasn't enjoying the party was Ren. Ren had kissed him, and had feelings for him, and Ai didn't feel the same way. He couldn't. And Ai now realized that he was certainty _not_ making his master happy, and that made him even more stressed. All he wanted was some time to think, away from all these noisy people, back at home. He didn't want to be at this party.

"No," Ai finally answered. "Ai!" Ren exclaimed. "You told me to answer honestly." "I meant to Tokiya!" Ren made frustrated noise, probably because he realized he called Tokiya by his first name in front of Nanami. "Relax, it's fine. To be honest I don't really like this party that much myself." Nanami said. "Why not?" Ai asked. Ren sent him a look that clearly said 'please stop talking now'. "I find it...how should I put this...? Absolutely _disgusting_ that people would put their androids on leashes. But that's just my opinion." Nanami said. "I don't like it either." Ren agreed. "Then why did you put him on a leash?" "So no one tried to hurt us." "My husband may have a rather passive approach at this, but if you don't want to put a leash on Ai then don't." "It's not that easy." "'Really? You can't take it off? You have servants to do that for you too, you don't know how?"

Ren's frustration was clearly shown. "Listen, Nanami-chan. I want to take the leash off of Ai, but I can't. Like I said, it's dangerous. What if people started trying to kill Ai?" "Then you'd fight them back." Nanami said. "You'd fight back, because you don't want Ai to be treated like a thing and not person." "Why do you feel so strongly about it?" Ren asked. "Because...Because I do." "Why is that?" "If you don't want to take the leash off, that's none of business," Nanami said. "But don't pretend you care about Ai if you don't." She said quietly. Ren cared about him, didn't he? Ren looked at him, before taking off the leash. "You don't ever have to use it again." Ren said. Ai was glad. He never liked the leash. "See? If you actually try you can make him happy." Was Ai happy? But that was an emotion, that meant Ai could feel. "You're happy?" Ren asked. "I don't know." Ai said. "At the very least you're glad he took of the leash, right?" "Yes," It was true, it didn't hurt but it wasn't exactly comfortable. "And he's not making that face anymore." Nanami said. "What face?" Ai asked. "The hurt puppy dog expression, it gets me every time." Ren said. What were they talking about? "I looked like...a dog?" Ai wasn't quite sure he understood. Ren laughed. "No, that's just something people say when someone makes a sad face and it looks really cute, like a puppy." Ren explained. "I looked cute?" "Very cute." Ren said.

"Well, I have to go, I'll see you later. Goodbye, Jinguji-kun, Ichinose-san, and what would you like me to call you?" Nanami asked Ai. Ai looked at Ren, but he shook his head. Ai didn't know what he preferred to be called. "Ai-san." Ai said. While this woman had helped him, he didn't feel particularly comfortable having anyone called him Ai-kun or anything else. She did ask Ai what he wanted to be called, so he thought it was okay. "Then you can call me by my first name as well Ai-san. You can call me Haruka-san."

"I'll see you all later." Haruka said, walking away. "She must really like you." Ren said. Ai didn't know what he meant. "She's never let anyone call her by her first name." Tokiya explained. Ai almost forgot Tokiya was there, he'd been so quite. "How come?" Ai asked. "I guess she's never liked anyone enough, or has never felt close enough to anyone? Well, her husband does call her by her first name of course, but that makes sense." Ren said. "Why did she want me to call her by her first name?" "You're just special." Ren said, poking him on the nose. When Ren realized what he did, he didn't look at Ai again. "You think it'd be okay if we left Tokiya?" "I don't know, the party's barley began." "Well, we're leaving. By the way, don't say 'good evening," Tokiya, you're not a vamprie." Ren said, walking away. Ai followed him.

"Why are we leaving?" Ai asked. Ren sighed. "Because we are Ai, I can't answer any questions right now." Once they were outside, Ren said, "I'm sorry, I know I'm not being very nice. I'm just upset." "About what?" Ren sighed again. "It's really not fair when you're being so cute." "I'm sorry, I'll try to stop being cute." Ai said, not sure how he would. "No, no, it's not your fault. Plus, I don't think you could stop being cute if you tried." "How do I make you happy?" Ai asked. Ren just started at him would big eyes, it was freaking Ai out. Finally, Ren eyes returned to normal and he spoke. "I don't know." Ren said. "Are you going to throw me away?" If Ai couldn't make him happy than Ren would probably throw him away. After all what was the point of having a pet if they didn't make you happy? "No, Ai, I would never do that." Ren said. "What are you going to do with me?" Ai asked. If he was just going to bother Ren why would Ren want him? "You'll stay in my mansion with me, it'll be like nothing's changed." Ren said, though he looked upset and Ai felt that pain in his chest.

"Are you okay?" Ren asked Ai. "I don't know." "What's wrong?" Ren said, walking closer to Ai. "My chest hurts." "Did it just start hurting?" Ren asked. "It started when you got upset with me. After you kissed me. I don't like it when you're upset." Ai said. "Ai," Ren said, but didn't continue. "I just want to make you happy." Ai said, standing on his tip toes and tugging on Ren's collar. Ren obliged, kissing Ai. Ai figured out he liked kissing. He liked how Ren's lips felt against his own, how surprisingly soft they were, how they tasted. After they pulled apart, Ren asked. "So...does that mean...?" Ren didn't finish. "I don't know." Ai said. He didn't know if he liked him, he just knew that in that moment he _really_ wanted to kiss him. No, he _needed_ to. "But I thought...so you're only attracted to me physically?" Ren asked, sounding upset. "I don't know. I'm sorry." Ai said looking down, his cat ears dropping and his chest tightening. "It's alright. Maybe we just need to figure this out." Ren said, petting Ai's ears. "But I can't make you happy," Ai said looking up at him, his voice sounding strange. It didn't sound frustrated, but Ai knew there was some sort of emotion in his voice. So he could feel? "You make me plenty happy, Kitten." Ren said, taking Ai's face in his hands and kissing him on his forehead. Ren leaned forward, putting his mouth by his ear and whispered, "Do you think we could figure it out in the hot tub tonight?" "I don't know have something to wear for that." "We'll buy something on the way home. Oh, and you can change into your human form now." Ren said, moving away from Ai's ear. "Let's go to the car."

* * *

Ren could not believe it, not one bit. After they'd brought a swim suit for Ai and returned home, they'd immediately went to the hot tub. They were currently sitting in it right now. Ren was looking at Ai, and he couldn't believe what he saw. Was Ai...Was Ai Mikaze _blushing_? This was the same Ai, not a clone, right? Ren didn't say anything, he just started at Ai amazed, which if anything probably making Ai more embarrassed and uncomfortable, but he just couldn't stop. Ai was blushing. None of the things Ren said could get him to blush, but apparently wearing swim suits and getting in a hot tub did. Ren should've done this sooner. "A-ai," "Yes?" Ren moved over to him, took his face in his hands, and kissed him right on the lips. How could he control himself when his hybrid looked so cute? There was just no possible freaking way. "M-master," Ai said, pulling away. "Sorry," Ren said, moving back to where he was before. "You look _very_ cute when you blush Ai, do you know that?" Ai didn't say anything, just proceeded to sit there and look cute.

"So, are you excited to go to the bakery tomorrow?" Ren said, trying to change the subject to make Ai more comfortable. If he wanted Ai to like him emotionally as well as physically he needed to try extra hard. Ai nodded. "Did you like that cake? Did he make it? What was his name, anyway?" Ren asked. "U-uh, I-I liked it. He made it. His name was Reiji Kotobuki." Ai said. "What was that other guy's name again?" "Akihisa Tachibana. He introduced himself to you as Aki." Ai said. "Oh, that's right. Wasn't he kind of...I don't know...strange?" "Annoying's more like it." Ai mumbled. Ren chuckled and nodded. He was pretty annoying. Especially when he borrowed Ai and then kept him for awhile. Ren didn't like that. "Did you like talking to them?" Ren asked, curios if he liked them more than him. "I don't know." Ai said. Ren wasn't going to force him to have an opinion, maybe he really just didn't know yet. "What about Tokiya and Masa?" Ren asked. "Why do you have nicknames for them?" "Hmm? I guess it's because we're friends." "But you gave me a nickname. What does that mean?" "I gave you a nickname because I like you. Honestly I like giving everyone nicknames, but yours is special. I wouldn't call Masa or Tokiya kitten, it's more of nick name for your...significant other." Ren explained, not sure that's exactly what they were. "Oh." Is all Ai said. Then there was awkward silence. Until Ren figured something out.

"Were you jealous?" "What's that mean?" Ai asked, titling his head. "You thought I liked Masa or Tokiya, and that made you upset." Ren said. "Wouldn't that be feeling something?" "Yes." Ren was glad that his assumptions about him having emotions were right. "So maybe...I can like you someday?" "Mmhmm." Ren said, although someday seemed so far away. But maybe...If Ai was jealous, maybe, just maybe, he likes him already and doesn't realize it. Oh well, then. He guessed he'd have to wait for him to realize.


	4. Dating Aimi

Sorry for not updating for awhile again! And about what I said about updating more frequently. On the bright side, I wrote a Sarumi fanfic today, which inspired me to update this story!

Enjoy the story!

* * *

It was the next day, and Ai and Ren were on their way to Reiji's bakery. They didn't really talk about much in the car, the ride over was pretty boring. It took at most two hours to get to Reji's bakery. It was in a quite town and a quite neighborhood. When they got out of the car and went inside, Ren was hit with the scent of the place. Not that it was bad, it was actually sort of pleasant. The small bakery smelt of baked beard and freshly baked muffins, and Ren could've sworn he detected some sort of chocolate in the there. It had a relaxing atmosphere. There was a counter that had all the pastries displayed in glass cases underneath it, and a few tables for costumers that would prefer to sit and eat. Ren saw some outside as well.

"AiAi-kun, Jinguji-sama, welcome to the bakery!" Reiji said, a bit too enthusiastically for Ren's taste. "Hi, Kotobuki-san. It's nice to see you again." Ren said. "You too," Reiji said, then he looked at Ai again. "I see you left that collar at home." "Yes, it was stupid anyway. And Ai didn't like it." Ren said, looking at his hyrbid. Ai looked at him with his usual stoic expression, but Ren knew he was glad to have the thing off. The way Ai looked at him after what Nanami said, Ren regretted ever having put the collar on Ai. "So, do you want to try one of those free samples?" Reiji asked, holding out a tray of chocolate chip cookies." Ai walked right over to Reiji, completely ignoring Ren's presences. Ren couldn't help but laugh at this. He still needed to get used to someone ignoring him. He walked up to see Ai taking a cookie and then biting it. The cutest little gasp came out of his mouth, and the way his eyes lit up was completely adorable. Ren thought Ai liked the cookies at home, but this expression defiantly told him other wise. "Do you like them?" Reiji asked. Ai simply nodded. "I'm glad~ There's more pastries for you to try in the back. I'll leave the cookies here if you want some more. Oh, and of course you can try some too, Jinguji-sama." And with that Reiji went into the back to get more pastries.

"You're so adorable, kitten." Ren said, kissing Ai's forehead. He couldn't help it after Ai's cute display. Ai picked up a cookie and held it in front of Ren. At first Ren thought Ai wanted him to take it, but then he said, "Bite it." Was Ai trying to feed him? Ren smirked at the idea. He took a bite. Ai's expression was accurate, the cookies tasted...Ren didn't even know how to describe it, but they were good. _Really_ good. "Do you like it?" Ai asked. "It's really good." Ai nodded in agreement, before picking up a cookie and biting it. "Ah-ah, it's my turn now." Ren said, taking the cookie out of Ai's hand and holding it in front of Ai's mouth. Ai took a bite. "Here are some brownies. Did you try the cookies, Jinguji-sama?" "Yes, they were very good." Then he registered the pan in front of him. Brownies. If Reiji's cookies were this good, then his brownies were sure to be spectacular, given that they were Ren's favorite sweet food. Ren immediately picked one up, biting intp the chocolate-goodness. It was...Ren was surprised when a gasp came out of his own mouth. It was so freaking good. "Hahaha, Jinguji-sama must really like brownies, huh AiAi-kun." "Yes, he does." "Oh? So you're making fun of me now?" Ren said, swiping his figure on top of the brownie and putting some of the frosting on Ai's nose. Ai made a new expression, it was an adorable sort of '-how-dare-you' expression. Ren raised his eyebrow at it. Ai took some of the frosting from another brownie and put it on Ren's nose. "Oh, so you want to go there?" Ren said, putting two dots of frosting on both of Ai's cheeks, then preceding to lick on of them off. "Uuh, should I leave you both alone?" Reiji asked. Ren and Ai both looked at him, startled. Ren had forgotten he was there. Ren turned to Ai, who seemed to actually be blushing again. "Master," Ai said, the word sounding like he was annoyed with him. It was then that Ren learned that Ai was uncomfortable with PDA. Or at least he was now that they were in a relationship.

"I'm sorry Ai, but you're just so cute I can't control myself sometimes." "Kotobuki-san~" That strange kid said, coming in. What was his name again? "Ooh, you made brownies!" He said, taking one of _Ren's_ brownies. Reiji cleared his throat, as if to say 'there's a king here.' "O-oh, sorry King Ren- I-I mean Jinguji-sama." Aki said, bowing to him. "That's alright, but you don't need to bow to me." Ren said, reminding him _again_. "A-ah, sorry Jinguji-sama." "It's fine." Ren said, even thought he was pretty annoyed with the kid. Not for butchering all that royal etiquette stuff, but for touching _his_ brownies. Ren took one, less the kid inhale them all. "Did you try one, Ai?" Ren asked, because it was okay for him to touch Ren's brownies. Ai shook his head and picked up a brownie. He didn't gasp this time, but he did have wide eyes at the taste of brownies. They were very good. "Did you taste his cookies, Jinguji-sama? He's famous for them." The kid said, his mouth still full. "Yes, although I prefer his brownies." "The brownies are good too." "Ummm," The kid said, as if finally noticing Ai. "Why does it have frosting all over it's face?" If he didn't put the leash on Ai today, he didn't have to call him it. And if he didin't have to refer to him as it, he didn't have to tolerate it when ignorant idiots did it either. "I put in on _him_." Ren said angrily. "U-uh, sorry Jinguji-sama, did I do something to upset you?" "Yes," Ren said honestly. "Ai's a he, not an it. Please don't call him that ever again." "O-okay. I'm sorry Jinguji-sama, I didn't mean to offend you."

"Why don't you all try some muffins." Reiji said, putting another tray on the counter. Ai took one. He'd wiped the frosting off with some napkins from the dispenser that was on the counter. After he took a bite his face scrunched up. He didn't like them. "What flavor are they?" Ren asked. "Banana nut." Reiji said. Ren laughed. "Guess we found something you don't like." He said, poking Ai on the nose. He picked a muffin up for himself, because he did like banana nut. He noticed the kid pick one up as well, but he was a bit more subdued after Ren talked to him.

Ren sat down at a table and Ai followed him. The kid was talking to Reiji. "What was that guy's name again?" Ren asked, taking a bite of the muffin. "Reiji Kotobuki or Akihisa Tachibana?" "Tachibana," Ren answered, taking another bite. "He gets on my nerves. Did he bother you when he called you it?" "Not really. The only reason I wanted you to refer to me as 'he' was because I didn't want you to throw me away." "Oh. Well, I can refer to you as it, if that's what you want." "It doesn't matter." Ren tried not to be upset Ai didn't have an opinion. "There also they, I could refer to as that." "You can refer to me as he if you want." "Okay," Ren said, not saying anything else about it. "Do you want to go anywhere else today?" Ren asked. Yesterday was Ai's first time out of the house, and this was the first outing Ai chose, so Ren wondered if there was anywhere else Ai wanted to go. "Nowhere in particular." "Do you want to think of one?" Ren asked. Ai shook his head. "I'm hungry." He said, getting up to get more sweets. He came back with a plate of five brownies and eight cookies. He must have been hungry. "Can I take you to the beach?" Ren asked. He admitted it wasn't because he thought Ai would like it. The question was fueled by his own selfish desires to see Ai blush again. And kiss him while he was blushing. "If you want to, Master." Ai said, looking a little uncomfortable. That made Ren feel bad. "Do you want to go?" "Will we be swimming?" "Yes." "Then no." Ren sighed. He shouldn't have even asked him to go to the beach. "Why are you so embarrassed, Kitten?" He really shouldn't be embarrassed about them having their shirts off. Ren would take his off right now if Ai asked him to. "Because...I'm not like you." "Huh?" That was a completely different answer than Ren was expecting. "Since I'm a robot my body's different than yours. I have hidden screws keeping my back panel closed, but I feel like you can see them. It's...embarrassing." Ai said, blushing right then. "I can't see them. And if even if I could, I'd still think you're beautiful. You don't have to be embarrassed. We can go somewhere else, if you want." Ren said, trying to make him feel better. "We can go see a movie, or to a bookstore, we can go somewhere else to eat-" Ren continued to ramble ideas...

* * *

It was at least thirty minutes later when Ai cut Ren off and asked, "Can we go to a bookstore?" He was curios to see if it was any different from Ren's library. "Yeah," Ren said, happy that he found something Ai wanted to do, even if it was one of the first things he said. "Can we go now?" Ai asked. During Ren's ramble Ai had finished his food. It was a long list of places.

* * *

"This is a book store." Ren said. He had made sure to take Ai to the biggest book store he could fine, one where there was rows and rows of books. "Do you like it?" He asked, smiling at Ai. "Yes," Ai said, walking over to a shelf. He picked up a book and immediately sat on a bench started reading. Ren was a little lost as what to do himself. Maybe he could read something to? He picked up a book but after a few minutes got bored. He didn't like reading. "Do you want something to drink?" Ren asked Ai. There was a little café attached to the book store. "Hmm?" Ai said, looking up from a book. "Did you want something to drink Ai?" Ren asked. "No," Ai said, going back to reading. "I'm going to go get something, I'll be right back." Ren said, walking over to the café. He ordered himself a coffee, then went back to Ai. After a few more minutes he found himself bored. Maybe he was being a bit impatient, or dare he say, selfish, but he wanted to talk to Ai or something. Not stare at him reading books. Not that staring at him was bad. He was not ugly in any way. No, in fact, he was the very opposite. Ai was one of the most attractive people he's ever met. Ren wanted to kiss him right now. But he couldn't. He had to let Ai read. But maybe Ai was bored. Maybe he didn't want to read anymore. Ren went over and kissed Ai's on the cheek. "What are you reading?" "A book with recipes in it." "Mm, do you want to learn how to cook. We can take a class." _At least you'll pay attention to me then_. "I like reading about the recipes more." Ren didn't know what to say now. "Do you want to take a break?" Yes, he was impatient. Very impatient. "Hmm?" "A break, we can get something to eat at the café that's attached to this place. Or we can go somewhere else." "We just ate." Ren sighed. Yes, they did have some pastries and things at Reiji's bakery. Ai did have a lot. He asked him on the off chance he was hungry again. But he wasn't. "Master," "Yes?" Ren answered immediately. "Do you want to go somewhere else?" "Why, do you?" "You're hovering." "Sorry," He said, standing up from where he crouched by Ai. "We can go somewhere else, Master." "No, no. Go ahead and read. Just act like I'm not here." Turns out Ren could only sit still for elven minutes before he started pacing. "Master," "Yes?" "Why don't we go get something from the café." "Okay," Ren said, happy with the suggestion. They went to the café and Ren ordered them both cheesecake. It looked good. Ren took a piece with the fork and fed it to Ai. "Do you like it?" "Yes," Ren took a bite. "Me too." It wasn't as good as Reiji's pastries, but it was still good.

* * *

After they finished the cheesecake Ai asked him "Do you want to go home, Master?" "Why, do you?" Ai didn't answer. "Let's go read for a little bit more." Ren admitted, he was kind of being a jerk. This was something Ai liked to do and he should let him do it. "Okay," Ai said walking back to the books. After about an hour, who knows how Ren could stay still for that long, he mainly played with his phone, but he made an effort to read some books too. For about five seconds. Ren wonder if Ai thought he was stupid. He didn't read much after all. But he was a king, didn't that mean he was smart? Anyway, after about an hour Ai stood up and told Ren, "We can go now." "You sure?" "Yes," "Okay Ai, let's go." He was about to go to the car with Ai, before he realized something. "Oh, do you want to buy something?" "No." "Are you sure? You can buy as many books as you want." "In that case," Ai said, going back over to the shelf he got most of the books he read today from. "Can I buy this?" It was the book of recipes Ai was looking at first. He really liked to read about recipes, huh? He wondered if Ai would like cooking shows. Or maybe he likes reading them because it's stuff he wants to eat. Ren would have to ask him. "Okay, I'll buy it for you." After buying the book and going to the car, Ren asked him the question. "Why do you like reading cookbooks?" "Because I think it's interesting how food is made. How the ingredients make something different." "Mm, do you think you'd like a cooking show?" That was the other question he wanted to ask Ai. "I don't like TV that much, but I could try it." "I'll show you some good ones." Not that Ren lounged around every day watching cooking shows, but sometimes if he was _really_ bored he put them on. Or sometimes for background noise if he was doing this rare thing called working. "Is there anything else you want to do today?" Ren asked Ai. "Not really." "Are you sure? We have the whole day." "There's nothing I want to do." "In that case, we'll go back home."

After they arrived home Ren took Ai outside. "Where are we?" "In the garden." Ren showed Ai the flowers, and the bench next to a wall of the mansion. "Let's sit here." Ren said. They sat and Ren put Ai on his lap. "Mm, the sun's out. How do you feel about the heat?" Ren asked. "It's something I can do without." "What about when it's cold out?" "That's fine." "So you like cold weather more than hot weather? I'm more a hot weather type of person. You can go to the beach when it's hot out." "You still want to go?" "Not if you don't." "If you want to, Master, we can go." "I'm not going if it makes you uncomfortable. That's not something I want you to feel." _Feel_ , that's right. Ai felt embarrassed, he knew he was capable of that emotion. How many emotions was that now? Ai knew he wasn't capable of feeling everything, at least not right now. But he would like too, at least one day. "Sorry for interrupting." Just then, Tokiya comes in. "Icchi, why _are_ you interrupting?" "There's something you need to know Ren. You're father coming." "My father? You're joking, right? I know we used to play pranks when we were little, but I thought we grew out of that." "I'm not joking Ren. He's coming, and...maybe we talk alone." He was looking at Ai. "Anything you have to say in front of me, you can say in front of Aimi." "Aimi?" Tokiya and Ai both said at the same time. "That's right, you have two nicknames now." Ren said, poking Ai's nose.

"Alright, if that's what you want. Your father is coming, and he's seeing if you have a potential candidate to be your wife. If you don't, he's going to introduce you to some." " _What_?" Potential candidates...for Ren to marry. For some reason Ai couldn't properly process the information. Maybe he was breaking. "Yes, it's true." "Just how do you know this, Icchi?" "Your father talked to my mother, who told me. She assumed he told you knew already. She doesn't know that he wouldn't tell you." "Did he say when he was coming?" Tokiya shook his head. "I asked my mother but she just said he was coming soon." "Well that's just great. What are we going to do about this?" "It's ultimately up to you, but..." Tokiya paused, as if he was completing what to say. "Where to you want to be in the future?" Tokiya suddenly asked. "What do you mean?" "What do you think your future will be like?" That was an easy answer for Ren. He'd already thought about it. "I'm going to be married to the one I love and continue being king." "Right. And do you think that person...will be Ai?" "Why are you asking me this?" Ren asked, sounded offended. "I just want to make sure you understand that you need to marry eventually. And that it's practically illegal for a king to marry another male. I just want to make sure you're really serious about this before you get into trouble." "What, and you think our relationship is a joke? And I know what I'm doing. I'm not a child." "Ren, I just want to make sure he's someone you can spend the rest of your life with." "He is." Ren said, wrapping his arms tightly and protectively around Ai. "It's none of your business anyway, so why are you butting in?" "Did you not ask for my help?" "I shouldn't have." "Fine. I'll get going. But you really should think about what you're going to do." Tokiya said, before leaving.

"Can you believe him Aimi?" "Are you going to meet with the potential brides?" "Of course not. I'm not going to marry any of them." "But you can't marry me." There was silence after Ai said that. "Why not?" "Because I'm male. And I'm not human." "That doesn't matter." "You don't know if you'll love me, or if you'll still like me. You should meet with them." "But I don't want to. I wouldn't be able to fall in love with someone in two seconds, and I don't want to be in an arranged marriage." "But you have to get married soon." "I don't want to think about anyone else other than you, Aimi." "Why?" "What do you mean, why? I like you. I like you so much." Ren said, turning Ai around and kissing him on the lips. Ai pulled away. "I mean why do you like me?" "I like you because you're you. I like how cute you are, how you blush, how you're so smart, how you're curios about things, how you love to learn. I love how you ignore me." Ren kissed Ai on lips again. "And I love how you taste." "But I'm not human, so why do you have such strong feelings for me? What if I never like you back?" "It doesn't matter your human or an android or a toaster, I still like you, Ai. And sometimes the person you like doesn't like you back, it doesn't mean I still can't like you. And I do believe you'll like me back eventually." _Eventually means soon, of course_ , Ren thought. "I don't want you to get in trouble because of me." "I'm not. And even if I did, it's my decision. You're worth it." Ren said, kissing Ai on lips again. _"I'll like no one other than you."_ Ren whispered to him.


End file.
